Tag: Writing Prompt
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Memoir Lessons: Buddies, Endings, and Beyond
In this post, I wrap up the last of the twenty lessons I found in Beth Kephart’s “Slant of Sun.” I have delved into this enjoyable, well-written book, a process I have grown accustomed to. After reading a memoir, I go back and consider it again. I hope you will do the same. By studying…
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Lessons from Kephart: Labels, Definitions, Language
When Beth Kephart’s son was diagnosed with a vague “disorder” she had to cope with the news. But how do you make sense of information that affects people you love when it is so technical you can barely understand it? You must sort out more than jargon. This is your son, and you must take…
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Memoir Lessons: Moms, Quirks, Choices
Even those who firmly believe mother knows best also know of situations like Beth Kephart’s in which the child presents problems that exceed the mother’s grasp. At what moment does the mother decide that her own resources are not sufficient? It’s a profound question I would have never thought about before reading this memoir, about…
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Memoir Lessons: Mysteries of emerging consciousness
Jeremy was using his words to explain his actions, and that’s what memoir writers do, too. Your whole memoir is an attempt to describe how your life works, from inside your point of view.
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Lessons 4-5 from Beth Kephart’s Memoir, Slant of Sun
Pick a scene, and instead of jumping right to the outcome, build up to it. Remember how you felt while you were still worried, still anticipating. Did you discuss your fears with other people, or muse about the possibilities? Pause, anticipate, feel heart racing. Note the tension. Let my heart pound, too.
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Use this memoir as a study guide: lessons 1 to 3
Her journey to help her son enter the game of life abounds with courage, psychological sleuthing, and love. It is a warm coming of age story of two people: Jeremy’s development into childhood, and his mother’s maturity as the shepherd of her son. I learned so much from reading the book that I think it…
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Celebrity Lessons for Writers
Furthermore, famous people exert enormous power in our culture, and unless I break down and read their memoirs, I’m going to remain ignorant about them. So when an online friend suggested that Steve Martin’s “Born Standing Up” was authentic and introspective I decided to give it a try. It turned out to be an excellent…
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Clown story inspires six writing prompts
Consider Sean Toner’s award-winning “Head Clown,” a story about a summer when he decided to earn extra money by selling balloons. This piece, fashioned from ordinary events, is clever, engaging, and warm. I looked more closely trying to decipher how he transformed a few memories into a tale that offered so much value. From my…
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Link isolated anecdotes into a story with the power of your beliefs
A memoir starts with a single anecdote. Then another, and another. In our imagination, we know these events formed our life. But other people can’t read our imagination. They can only read what’s on the page. We must transform the anecdotes into a compelling story. The memoir writer’s job is to discover the binding that…
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His Relationship to Girls Changed in this Scene
Henry Louis Gates grew up in a small town in West Virginia in the 1950s where he was taught he shouldn’t associate with girls until he married one. Then a fractured hip landed him in a hospital in a university town 60 miles away. During his protracted stay, with his leg suspended in traction, he…
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